Flashback Photos: Remembering Light Up Atlanta

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In the early '80s, the Light Up Atlanta festival drew as many as 300,000 people downtown each June for a nighttime weekend party of dancing, drinking and dining.

June 25, 1983 - Central City Park (now Woodruff Park) provided a great place for people to watch fireworks light up Atlanta's skyline during the 'Light Up Atlanta Festival.' In the early '80s, the Light Up Atlanta festival drew as many as 300,000 people downtown one weekend each June for a nighttime party of dancing, drinking and dining.

June 24, 1983 -- Photographers on Jackson Street bridge get ready to shoot the Atlanta skyline once businesses turn on their office lights after nightfall as part of the 'Light Up Atlanta Festival.'

June 29, 1984 -- Crowds returned to Central City Park (now Woodruff Park) in the heart of downtown Atlanta to enjoy fireworks and events as part of the second 'Light Up Atlanta Festival.'

June 30, 1984 -- Planners estimated more than 300,000 people crammed Peachtree Street and downtown for the 'Light Up Atlanta Festival.'

June 30, 1984 -- Lucius Cenethia and daughter Ridley (front left) were among the near 300,000 revelers attending the 'Light Up Atlanta Festival' downtown.

June 27, 1986 -- An Atlanta policeman keeps watch near the Five Points rail station after a 24-year-old man was fatally shot in the station as 'Light Up Atlanta' celebrants returned home. The 1986 festival was the last gasp for 'Light Up Atlanta.' By 1985, major sponsors, including popular Atlanta radio station WQXI-FM, had pulled out and the festival was cancelled after sponsors claimed that 'Light Up Atlanta' had "grown too big to be run by volunteers." The '86 event had been held in hopes of reviving the once-successful summer street fair, but after the death of 25-year-old Victor McClendon of Decatur, 'Light Up Atlanta' faded into history.

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June 25, 1983 - Central City Park (now Woodruff Park) provided a great place for people to watch fireworks light up Atlanta's skyline during the 'Light Up Atlanta Festival.' In the early '80s, the Light Up Atlanta festival drew as many as 300,000 people downtown one weekend each June for a nighttime party of dancing, drinking and dining.

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